Mars take-off vehicle launch with samples: This illustration shows a concept of how the NASA Mars Ascent Vehicle, which contains tubes containing rock and soil samples, could be launched from the surface of Mars in one step of the Mars sample mission. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech. Full picture and caption ›
The award moves NASA and ESA one step closer to realizing Mars Sample Return, an ambitious planetary reconnaissance program that will build on decades of science, knowledge and experience.
NASA awarded the Mars Ascent Propulsion System (MAPS) contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation of Elkton, Maryland, to provide propulsion support and products for spacecraft missions at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Together with the successful launch of the Mars Perseverance Rover, this award moves NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) one step closer to the realization of Mars Sample Return (MSR), a highly ambitious planetary reconnaissance program that will build on decades of science, knowledge, and experience of Mars exploration.
The cost-plus, fixed fee contract has a potential value of mission services of $ 60.2 million and a maximum potential value of $ 84.5 million. The contract begins on Thursday, March 4, with a base period of 14 months, followed by two option periods that can be used at NASA’s discretion.
In the next steps of the MSR campaign, NASA and ESA will provide components for a Monster Recovery Lander mission and an Earth Return Orbiter mission. The Sample Retrieval Lander mission delivers a Sample Fetch Rover and Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) on the surface of Mars. Marshall is responsible for the MAV element of the MSR program, which is a two-stage vehicle that will be a critical factor in supporting MSR to recover and return the samples that the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover will pick up. for return to earth. The Mars environment will be an important factor in the design, development, manufacturing, testing and qualification of two different solid rocket engines with multiple deliveries of each. Through the MAPS contract, Northrop Grumman will provide the propulsion systems for the MAV, as well as other supporting equipment and logistics services.
By bringing Mars samples back to Earth, scientists around the world will be able to study the samples using sophisticated tools that are too large and complicated to send to Mars, and future generations will be able to study them using technologies that have not yet is not available. The compilation of the monsters on Earth will allow the scientific community to test new theories and models as they are developed, just as the Apollo monsters sent back from the Moon have been doing for decades.
For information on NASA and other agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
News Media Contacts
Gray Hautaluoma / Alana Johnson / Joshua Handal
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501 / 202-358-2307
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Janet Sudnik
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-1216
[email protected]